The umbilical cord is a rope-like structure which connects the fetus (unborn child) to the placenta. The cord contains two arteries and one vein. The arteries carry blood containing waste products from the fetus to the placenta. The vein carries blood containing oxygen and food substances obtained from the mother's blood back to the fetus.
Heretofore, when a baby was born, the doctor had to very carefully and dexteriously cut the umbilical cord at a point close to the baby's abdomen. The scar, which remains throughout life, is call the umbilicus or naval.
Heretofore, various attempts have been made to provide a device which allegedly would clamp the umbilical cord and simultaneously cut the cord wherein the segments are separated and clamped. In this connection, reference is made to the prior art device disclosed in Churchville U.S. Pat. No. 3,106,919. However, such devices are difficult to manipulate and have other attendant disadvantages. For example, such devices are difficult to manipulate and have a tendency to slip, especially when being handled by gloves or hands which are not completely free of fluids or moisture. The inability to grasp such devices in a non-slip manner is not alleviated or cured by providing the outer clamp surfaces with a non-slip formation.
The aforementioned slip condition is further accentuated by the lack of leverage provided by such prior art devices, which leverage is necessary to securely clamp and sever the umbilical cord.
Moreover, with the aforementioned prior art device it is necessary to first orient the device so that the clamp side with the blade remains on the mother's side of the cord for discarding with the placenta. A misorientation of such device, which is likely to occur because of the not easily viewable blade, may injuriously leave the clamp side with the blade on the child's side of the cord. This may result in infection and various other complications.
In addition, with the aforementioned prior art device, after the cord has been cut, it is then necessary to separate the pair of clamps by breaking the connecting bridge or spacer between the clamps. Ofttimes, the breaking of such bridge or spacer is not easily accomplished so that there is an unnecessary time delay in separating the newborn child from the placenta.
The aforementioned difficulties and disadvantages are avoided and eliminated by the present invention.